RTI
by Sola Haze
Summary: Vixen gets caught in an RTI session with K-Unit and Cub. WARNING: Torture, near-drowning, feelz, OC, and swearing. Like, MAJOR swearing. Takes place somewhere between Skeleton Key and Eagle strike
1. Chapter 1

**So, I was just thinking, and I made a character named Vixen (That's a female fox) She's part of an SAS test group to see if Women can live up to their standards. And she's Wolf's boyfriend. I just wanted to write this story about when she and K-Unit, plus Cub, get thrown into RTI. Hope you enjoy!**

 **DISCLAIMER: Screw disclaimers. Why am I using them when I don't own them either?**

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I was not happy to be rudely awoken in the middle of the night, hands grabbed the covers, yanking them off, the same hands grabbed me by the back of the shirt, wrenching me out of bed. I heard indignant cries from my unit members as they were awoken also. I jerked my hands in the hold they were in, but it didn't work. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, I was jerked out of the barracks and into the night.

It was cold out, the air was thick with moisture from yesterday's rain, which had made warm up _oh_ so wonderful. I couldn't see my unit members anywhere. My bare feet stumbled as I was forced to walk across the wet gravel. What was going on? Had the camp been taken over while I was asleep? I never heard an alarm. Who were these people?

I strained my neck to see the man who was holding me, but before I saw them, we stopped. I had been being lead to one of the vehicles parked in the lot. The back doors were opened and I was thrown in, landing on my stomach. I twisted around to look behind me, and right before the doors were closed, I caught an emblem on the jackets of the men outside.

Oh no. This was not good.

Damn Sergeant Winters! RTI. Of course it was RTI. This came around every other year, a time every soldier dreaded. The men were Green Jackets. That could only mean RTI. Resistance to interrogation.

I tried to keep track of the movements of the vehicle. They were turning... in circles? They were trying to disorient us, make us think they were taking us farther than they were. Likely they were taking us right back to the training camp. They drove me around for about ten minutes, before the van came to a halt, and a minute later, the doors were thrown open.

I was prepared. I threw myself at the first man, throwing a punch at his jaw. A punch to the jaw was all I needed to get away. But he was prepared, too. He ducked my punch and grabbed me by the bicep, yanking me off balance, my foot slipped over the edge of the doors.

The men caught me, one grabbing each arm and dragging me towards a low building. I fought them the whole way, jerking, biting, kicking, cursing and shouting. This earned me a swift punch to the stomach. I doubled over with a gasp, forcing them to carry me the rest of the way.

They threw me through a door before slamming it shut. I sat on my hands and knees there for a second, catching my breath. But when I looked up, I was struck by surprise.

K-unit? Why was I here? Where was my unit? My girls? J-unit? Were they splitting us up, trying to make us weaker? I felt a dread settle in my stomach. Cobra, Cheetah, Raven, what would happen to them without me?

Fox looked up from where he sat, slouched in despair on a wooden bench. "Vixen?" He gaped, then grimaced.

I nodded, picking myself up. I scanned over the room as I came to sit down. Eagle, Fox, and Snake were all there, including Cub. I sat next to him, frowning. He looked worried. Then a thought hit me.

I looked up at the rest of them. "Where's Wolf?"

Snake's head rose to meet my eye. "They took him about an hour ago."

"An hour ago?" I repeated. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Not too long." Snake replied. "Damn bastards stormed the barracks at midnight."

"Same here." I muttered.

A second later, the door opened again and Wolf was thrown in. He landed flat on his stomach; he looked awful! I immediately stood up, coming to his aid. I knelt down next to him, he hadn't moved yet, just panted heavily. His entire upper body was soaked, and there was a bruise on the side of his cheek.

"Wolf!" I put my hands on his shoulders, trying to bring him to reality. "Wolf, what happened?" I asked, rolling him over.

He coughed for a second before his eyes focused on me. "The pigs!" He rasped as I wiped some of the water from his hair. "The lousy, stinking..." I put a hand on his back, slowly helping him to a sitting position. He twisted around to look at his unit. "They laid into me!" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "They were really enjoying themselves!"

I pat his back lightly a couple times. They must have half-drowned him.

"Did you tell them anything?" Eagle asked as I helped him to his feet.

"Of course not." He rolled his eyes, which a moment later settled on Cub. "What about you, Cub? I bet you told them. I bet you blabbed."

"No, I didn't." Cub snapped angrily, scowling at Wolf.

"But you will..." He said, as I took him to sit down on one of the benches, planting myself between him and Cub. Wolf continued, "And you might as well know now. If you blow it, we all blow it. Because we're a unit. It only takes one of us to talk and we'll all be out of here."

"Cut the kid some slack." I said, patting Cub on the shoulder. "He's tough." I turned to smile at Cub, but the smile faded and my grip on his shoulder tightened. "You better be tough." I said in a quiet voice. "Don't you dare talk, understand?"

He nodded meekly, swallowing. I nodded back, releasing my grip on his shoulder. A few seconds of silence passed, before Cub broke it. "So what happens now?" What a good question.

"They let us sweat it out," Fox said. "It might be an hour. It might be a few minutes. But one thing you can be sure about. They'll come for us again..."

Cub nodded, accepting this as his cue to stop talking. In fact, so did everyone else. The silence itself was torture on its own. I looked over to Wolf, pursing my lips. He was my boyfriend. I didn't like seeing him worried.

"We're gonna be fine." I said to him in a quiet voice. "We only have to last twenty-four hours."

He shook his head. "Forty-eight."

"What?"

"They changed it." He said, never meeting my eyes. "Two days. If we can hold out two days, the SAS battle plan changes enough to make us useless. One day is no longer enough."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Dammit..." I couldn't believe it. I sighed allowing myself to lean against him, I remembered his shirt was wet. I looked over at him. "What did they do to you?"

He shook his head. "The bastards tried to drown me."

 _So I was right._ I thought.

"One of the Green Jackets landed a good punch to my face." He muttered. "I hate RTI."

I frowned, "Hey, look at me." He did. "We're gonna make it through this. No one's gonna talk, no one's gonna screw us up. We'll be fine." I slipped a hand around his waist.

His forehead creased. "I hope you're right."

I wrapped my other arm around him, "Of course I'm right." I pulled him into a kiss.

From the other side of the cell, Eagle groaned. "Ugh, get a room!"

I didn't care. I rested my head on Wolf's shoulder, sighing to myself. We'd be fine.

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 **Okaysies! Hope you liked Chapter one. Next chapter is where the torture begins, of cource, it won't be as graphic as you'd expect. This is, after all, just training. But anyway, hope you liked Vixen. I love her~ And Cub. Cub is amazing. Of course, he's not mine. I based this loosely on the RTI bonus chapter. This also may or may not take place between Eagle Strike and Scorpia. Not after, because Alex doesn't have the bullet scar. But whatever! Please review, long reviews are greatly appreciated. I want to know your reactions to every part of the story. Thank's for reading!~**

 **Sola Haze**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. I wanted to say, before anything else, that I've began making another version of this story, but in french instead, so all those people can enjoy it too! Anyway, this is the chapter where Vixen is tortured by the Green Jackets. Enjoy!~**

 **DISCLAIMER: Disclaimers are stupid. Whatever, don't own nothing.**

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It wasn't long before the men came back. Wolf immediately stood when they did, but they didn't stop. It took about three of them to take Wolf down, and pinned him to the floor before two more grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of the cell. I could hear Wolf's outraged shouting from behind me. I wanted to tell him I'd be fine... but I didn't really believe that myself.

I didn't move my feet as they dragged me along, even though my feet were bare. They dragged me outside, hauling my dead weight towards what looked like an old half-derelict barn. The inside was bare, except for two things: a chair, and a small tub of water. So they were going to drown me. Well, that sounded better than waterboarding.

The men turned me around and slammed me into the chair, pinning me in place. The only light in the room was a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling, directly over me. A third man emerged from the shadows, so there were three men now. All three wore masks, fatigues, and the same jacket with the same damn logo.

Pulling against the arms that held me, I knew, was a waste of energy. This wasn't a test to see if you could escape capture. The third Green Jacket stepped up to me, all business. God, I wanted to kill the Sergeant.

"Your name." He demanded.

"It's Vixen." That was the codename I'd been given at Brecons Beacons. It was the only thing I could give them if I didn't want to get binned. My response didn't seem to make the Green Jacket happy.

"Your _real_ name."

"That _is_ my real name." I said.

I felt a hand grab me by the front of my sleep shirt. The third Green Jacket leaned in closer to me. "We know you're from the SAS-"

"Well, no kidding, dumbass." That earned me a swift slap across the face. "What a charmer." This time it was a punch to the gut.

"Tell us your real name." He growled as I breathed heavily.

Catching a hold of my breath took a couple seconds before I gathered enough air to speak. "Are you deaf?... My name... is Vixen..."

I could see the anger and cruelty behind the mask he wore as he looked me up and down. "Your not a soldier." He spat, "You're just a woman. You think you can talk to me like that?"

I scoffed. "Oh, so now we're calling on sexism." I rolled my eyes. "You're gonna have to try a little harder if you want me to talk."

The Green Jacket stood up again, and a signal must have been given, because a second later I was being manhandled out of the chair and dragged behind it, where the tub of water was. I gulped.

 _Better than waterboarding._ I told myself as they wrapped rope quickly around my wrists. I stared down at the menacing tub. _Better than waterboarding._

I was forced to my knees, one of the men kept a hold on my bound hands, the other held me by the back of the shirt and grabbed a fistful of my hair.

"Last chance." The third Green Jacket said.

"Go to hell!" I snapped.

My head was suddenly forced into the water. It was freezing! I inhaled on instinct. Big mistake. When they brought me back up I broke into a fit of coughs, but was forced back under again before I could stop.

The third time under my lungs felt like they were going to burst. They held me under for longer and longer each time; spasms ran down my body, my muscles tensed up, my chest burned. Finally, after fifteen seconds, they pulled me out, and I immediately began coughing, sputtering desperately. The pain in my chest grew.

"Like to tell me your name now?" The third Green Jacket asked me as I arched my back, trying to pull away from his disgusting breath, but my muscles felt numb and unresponsive.

"My name... is... Vixen!" I panted, blinking the water from my eyes. My wrists strained in the ropes.

I faced downward as I huffed. I never met the Green Jacket's eyes. I couldn't breath. The world swam before my eyes. I squeezed them shut, fighting the pain in my chest.

An unrelenting hand roughly grabbed a fistful of my hair, pulling my head back sharply. It was the third Green Jacket. "No, it's not." He said slowly, drawing out an intimidating tone. "And we can find worse ways to get it out of you. So tell us, or else."

God, his breath was awful. I suppressed a gag, fighting down the nausea that surged in my throat. My head was beginning to hurt from his hold on my hair. "It's Vixen." I said through my teeth.

His eyes flicked from me to his men, and a moment later, he released my hair, and the men forced me onto my stomach. I saw the Green Jacket's boots walking away before my head was forced against the concrete floor as well.

"Bastards..." I growled, wiggling my wrists in the rope, though it was futile.

A cold wind blew in through the open door of the barn, causing me to shiver, my soaked skin was freezing. I saw the Green Jacket's boots return, and I felt a pair of hands grab my bound wrists. They yanked them backwards, pulling me to my feet. I bit my lip at the strain on my arms.

They forced me back into the chair, moving my bound arms behind the chair. It appeared the third Green Jacket had grabbed some rope, and he began by wrapping it around my arms and the back of the chair. They then tied my legs, throwing any plans of kicking them out the window.

"Little cliche." I said with a snarky tone, examining the ropes.

"Can't have you moving around too much." The third Green Jacket shrugged innocently. "It would really get in the way."

I scoffed. "Oh what, you think I'm gonna squirm and struggle like some weakling?"

A hideously yellow smile spread to his mouth. "Oh, you will."

He moved behind me as I kept my head high with a combination of confidence and arrogance. I didn't like that he was behind me. I couldn't see him. He could do anything.

I smelt his breath before I heard his voice close over my shoulder. "I learned these techniques specially for this occasion." He said, leaning into my vision. "Scared?"

"Take a mint." I snapped back at him.

He moved back, and I felt a hand on my bare skinned shoulder, as my sleep top was sleeveless. I jumped as his hand felt my shoulder for a moment, hot against my cold skin. What the hell was that bloody bastard doing?!

His fingers suddenly dug into my shoulder, somewhere around the collarbone. I couldn't hold in a gasp. Agony shot through my arm in tingling waves. I tensed my shoulder, but it did nothing to help alleviate the pain as he dug his fingers in deeper. He was using a pressure point! I bit my lip to keep any sound from escaping, without much success.

But a long ten seconds later, it stopped. For a moment, my breathing was the only sound in the room. My arm was beginning to go numb. "Are you going to tell us now?" The Green Jacket asked.

I breathed for a couple more moments before answering plainly. "No."

The man growled under his breath, but simply moved to a new pressure point closer to my neck. The pain began anew as he dug his fingers into the point, applying pressure enough to send excruciating sensations through my entire upper body. I couldn't hold in a scream. It felt like little needles stabbing through my shoulder. I twisted and writhed against the pain with little success.

This cycle continued for a while, changing pressure points through my back and arms. Finally, it all stopped, and I was left panting and wincing against the tingling from my latest assault.

The ropes were removed, and I was manhandled out of the chair. "Wait." The two men turned to the third Green Jacket. He handed one the bucket. "Douse her. Let her freeze in the cell."

The men obeyed, and I found myself drenched in frigid, ice cold water. The Green Jacket said one final thing to me before I left: "Tell the little one he's next." My teeth chattered as they dragged me back to the cell.

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 **Alright! Hope you liked this, I enjoyed writing it for sure. Remember, reviews are greatly appreciated. I already have 2 favorites, so that's great, but I think we can do better. Next chapter is kinda a combo of feelz and angst with Cub/Vixen interaction. LOVE IT~ Anyway, review, and hope you enjoyed!**

 **Sola Haze**


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing I heard when I was tossed back into the cell was my own name. "Vixen!"

I didn't move. I couldn't. I was exhausted, and freezing. Shudders wracked my body. It was Wolf's voice. He came to my side, lifting me off the ground. "Vixen, speak to me." He ordered.

His touch warmed my freezing body. I smiled lightly as his concerned face focused. I reached up to caress his cheek. "I'm... f-fine... Wolf..."

Wolf shook his head. "You're freezing and soaking." He brought me over to sit on the bench, ignoring the others entirely. "What did they do to you?"

"Same thing they d-did to you..." I replied, lying. "They t-tried to drown me."

Wolf shook his head. "No, what else did they do? Did they hurt you?" There was a growing fury in his eyes. "Did they touch you?"

I blinked, realizing what he was implying. "No! No... they... they u-used pressure p-points..." Another shudder coursed through my body, making Wolf hold me closer to him.

"Damn bastards..." He muttered.

I closed my eyes for a second before a thought hit me. "They said something..." Wolf stared at me, helping me sit up. My eyes locked on Cub. "Cub... they said you were next."

I could see the fear in Cub's eyes, like a child just waking from a nightmare.

"Great. Perfect. We're gonna get binned." Snake muttered.

Wolf shrugged as Cub's eyes slid out of focus, like he was having some sort of flashback. "Told you, kid."

I struggled off of Wolf's lap, coming to sit between him and Cub.

"Would b-both of you... shu-ut up?" I turned to the little kid next to me. "Look, Cub, l-lets be serious..." I said, then gestured a shaking hand around the cell. "These g-guys think you've got... n-no chance... they won't even w-warn you or try to h-help you, but you're a k-kid, and it's not f-f-fair..."

I took a hold of his hands, my maternal instincts taking over. "Look, I don't care if you're Double-O-Nothing or what." That name earned a twinge of irritation from him. "How long can you hold your breath?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, a minute."

I pinched his nose between my fingers. "Show me." He whined indignantly at my fingers. I rolled my eyes. "Just show me."

He sighed, taking in a breath and holding it. About thirty seconds later he opened his mouth to breath.

I released his nose. "Thirty seconds. That means you'll last fifteen seconds."

He stared at me in confusion. "Trust me, however long you can hold your breath in water, you can hold it for twice as long out."

Cub shook his head. "That's not long."

I shook my head, "And that's not all they can do." I recalled all the previous RTI sessions I'd endured in my time at the SAS. "The most common methods they use: waterboarding, stress positions, disorienting, sensory deprivation, and maybe they'll beat you up a bit; rarely ever do real interrogations involve blood being spilled."

He tilted his head. "Why not?

"Because if they did, you'd _bleed out_ before they could _break_ you."

"Oh..."

I nodded. "Believe me, Cub. Interrogation is a vicious, demoralizing, humiliating experience! You're never quite the same after." I shook my head. "They'll probably give us an hour or so before they come to get you. That's more than enough time to get you prepared." I put my hand, palm up, over my shoulder. "Wolf, shirt."

He blinked "What?"

"You heard me. Take off your shirt."

Eagle spoke up after a few seconds of Wolf's silence. "Why don't you take off your own shirt?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

A few seconds later I was holding Wolf's shirt in my hands. I bunched it into a flat piece, but shook my head. This wasn't going to work. It was too thick. I unrolled the shirt and tore the hem off into a circle of fabric.

"Hey!" Wolf shouted indignantly.

I ignored that, tearing the hem piece in two. I took a hold on Cub's arm, guiding him to stand and walk to the center of the cell. I stood behind him; I could see his tense form. I sighed. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you."

I saw his shoulder's relax in my grip.

"Much."

"What?!"

I laughed. "I'm joking! Now stop squirming."

I took the first piece of Wolf's shirt and placed it over Cub's eyes before tying it tightly in the back. I felt Cub's hands go instinctively to the blindfold on his face, but before he could, I grabbed his wrists, holding tight as he began to struggle.

"H-hey!"

"Oh, be quiet." I said, tying the other piece of the shirt around Cub's wrists, using one of the special survival knots we'd been taught. I noticed the guys had began to look on with a confused curiosity.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice sounding a little panicked.

"Showing you one of the techniques they use." I said. "Sensory deprivation." I waved a hand in front of his face. "Can't see anything, right? You have no clue what I'm doing. Doesn't that make you just a little nervous?"

He didn't answer for a second. "Um... no?"

I shook my head. "You're such a bad liar. Another thing losing your sight does: it improves your other senses to make up for it, like hearing, smell, taste..." I reached to pinch the skin on his bicep. "Touch..."

"Ouch!" He flinched.

"See?" I smiled, brushing my fingers over the now red skin. "Doesn't it make you feel absolutely helpless?"

"Vixen, can you stop?"

I shook my head. "Nope. They will do worse to you, and I want you prepared. Because if you slip up, we all get binned."

"I'm not gonna slip up!" He insisted.

"As long as you have a tongue, there's no guarantee of that." That made him flinch. "And I'm not gonna do that, so I have to prepare you for the worst."

"You said you weren't gonna hurt me!" I don't believe I've ever heard him whine like a child.

"Cub, right now I am your interrogator, and never trust what an interrogator says."

"Can we at least do this somewhere more private?"

"Where, Cub?" I gestured around the cell, even though he couldn't see. "Where would you like to go?" He didn't speak, but I felt his shoulders slump in defeat. I nodded. "That's right."

I noticed the guys were watching me like I was crazy, but I ignored them. "One tactic they already have in process is cold. We're in our sleep clothes, and we're up in the mountains. Wolf and I have both been soaked through the skin and left here. I'm worried they might do something worse with you."

I took his wrists, feeling him stiffen. I smiled. He would be eaten alive by those Green Jackets. I quickly yanked his bound arms up into the air, forcing a gasp from him as his knees buckled.

"V-Vixen!" He shouted, his breathing labored.

"These are stress positions. This is the minimum of what they would do to you." I said. "Remember, you're the youngest of us all; they view you as an easy target. Out of everyone here, they expect you to break."

"She's right." Snake said. "The only reason they didn't go after you first is because you came in a little late."

"And they wanted to have some fun with us first." Eagle added bitterly.

"But is this... really n-necessary?" Alex asked, his knees still buckling under the pressure and strain on his arms.

"From this position it would be so easy to dislocate your arms." I leaned in closer to his ear. "Can you imagine how painful that would be?"

I twisted his arms again, drawing a cry of pain from him. "S-stop!" He cried out, quickly biting his lip at his mistake.

I nodded. "See that right there? You just got us all binned." I let up on the pressure on his arms. "If they think you're cracking, they'll come down on you even harder. If you are verbally defiant, they'll come down harder. The only thing you can do is remain passive."

"What does that even mean?!" He shouted, more panicked than angry.

"It means don't be angry, and don't show fear. Be neutral. Tell them your name is Cub. If they ask for anything else, tell them you don't know. They will know you're lying, but you can't break face." I turned him around, pulling the blindfold from his eyes. "Cub, you have to make yourself believe this is real. Because it is. They are going to ask you real questions. They are going to demand real answers. They are going to cause you real pain. And failure means we're all real screwed up. And I swear, if you get me binned, I'll hurt you worse than they ever could."

My words shook him up pretty badly.

Even worse when Fox added: "She's not kidding."

Cub stared up at me with eyes that made him seem six years younger. "Is it..." He began, his voice wavering. "Is it... _really_ that bad?"

I nodded, stoic faced.

I undid his binds, tossing the torn shirt back to Wolf, and leaving Cub to wander to the corner and shake. For a moment I blamed myself. I may have just made breaking him that much easier. But it was something I had to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Review response time**

 **Yummypie193: This is interesting... Do you really think Cub would act like that though? He's no stranger to being captured and being threatened... In Skeleton Key Conrad nearly minced him, right? In the books, he's kinda always portrayed as a natural smartmouth to cover up any fear he might have. I do like Vixen though. I hope you update soon :)**

 **Me: I know, but he's sorta always been on his own in situations like this, and he's not used to, I guess, people on his side hurting him? Cub always does good because he usually has the reassurance that, for one, his enemies underestimate him, two, that he can get out of the situation, but this is RTI, and he knows he has to endure it until it's over. Plus, with all he's seeing of K-Unit's negativity and stuff, if I saw grown men scared like this, I'd be nervous too. In this chapter Cub is a little OOC too, but remember, if you woke up like he does, you'd freak too.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **WARNING: Swearing**

* * *

The men returned an hour or so later. I had to resist the urge to put myself between them and Cub when the door was opened. Cub, like I'd told him, did not resist, and instead submitted to the men who grabbed him and dragged him out. The last thing I saw of the boy was a nervous backwards glance, before the door was shut.

The cell was eerily silent while Cub was gone. Of course, it wasn't any more quiet than before. I wished Cub the best. I also imagined the worst. In the back of my mind, if I listened hard enough, I could almost hear faint boyish screams. But it was obviously just my brain playing a trick on me. Cub wouldn't scream like that... right?

I soon found my heart beginning to beat faster. I already knew they were hurting him, but how bad? What were they doing? Were they drowning him? Forcing him into stress positions? Using pressure points on him? I shuddered at the last thought.

I tried to push my thoughts away from Alex, but they only wandered towards my girls. I quickly suppressed those thoughts, too.

I should've stopped them. I should have guarded him. I should have insisted to go in his place. The thought of Cub with those Green Jackets made me feel sick. I could only hope he didn't break...

Of course, Cub was tougher than most kids I knew. How many _kids_ can survive two weeks of SAS training in the freezing mountains?

Cub would be fine. I had to make myself believe that if I didn't want to begin panicking. Cub would be fine... Cub would be fine...

* * *

I waited in anxiety for nearly two and a half hours, staring at the door. Why was he gone so long? I had thought they would return in one hour. I began to worry. Maybe they were doing something really bad to that poor kid. If he'd talked, they would have sent him back in and told us to get out.

So where was he?

Twenty minutes after this thought crossed my mind, the door was thrown open, and a limp, unmoving body was thrown onto the floor. It took me a second to realize who it was.

"Cub!" I ran to his inert body, rolling him over onto his back and pulling his upper body into my lap. I brushed his hair from his face. His night clothes were soaked through! His hair was a tangled mess, his lips were an unsightly color of mauve, and his arms and shoulders were covered in unnatural bruises.

"Cub, wake up!" I shouted, lightly shaking him. The others had come over, concern written on their faces. My shaking became more frantic. "Wake up!"

Cub remained unresponsive as Fox leaned over to me. "What if he told them?"

I whipped around so fast my long hair smacked him in the face. My face was a mask of sheer rage as I snarled at him. "He didn't talk!"

Fox stared at me for a moment, backing off slightly. I looked back to Cub. I know I had hurt him and threatened him before. I knew I hadn't been the most welcoming person he knew at Brecons Beacons, but he was just a little kid.

"C'mon, Cub..." I whispered, pulling him closer. "Please say something..." But the boy was still unresponsive.

Clearly, Cub would _not_ be fine.

I pressed my finger gently to his neck, placing it just below the jawline. The pulse was there, steady, and strong enough to be considered healthy, but Cub didn't look that way. He looked... cold.

 _Well, duh._ I silently reprimanded myself.

He was still soaking. I frowned at his sleep shirt, trying to wring out the hem slightly. He was so cold... shivers wracked his body violently in my arms. I felt my heart beat faster.

"Shit..." I whispered. "Shit, shit, shit!" I needed Raven! She was my Unit's medic. I wasn't a medic! And I couldn't get to Raven. I looked up at K-Unit, scanning them over quickly. My eyes landed on Snake.

"Snake!" The Scot's head snapped up, his expression stunned for a moment.

"Yeah?" He asked, regaining composure.

"Get over here!" I make a quick head gesture to Cub's inert body. Snake nodded, quickly standing to come over to me.

He knelt down next to me, taking in Cub with a moment's glance. A second later, I gladly handed the boy over to him. He did a quick little analysis of Cub's basic functions.

"Don't worry," He said, trying to remain calm. "He only _looks_ hypothermic. His temperature isn't dangerously low... yet." The last syllable hung menacingly in the air.

I quickly took over. "We need to get him into some dry clothes." Without thinking, I began pulling my arm in through my tank top, but Snake's hand laid firmly on my shoulder, halting my actions.

"Let me." He quietly removed his own shirt while I worked to remove Cub's, but halted in my tracks.

"What the fuck...?" I whispered, staring at Cub's torso. It was littered with scars and lasting bruises, even more than that which came with standard SAS training. It looked like he'd been through a bad car accident. No. It looked like he'd been _tortured_. How did a fourteen year old boy end up with this many scars?

"What are you doing?" Snake hissed at me. "Quick, get the shirt on, before-" He stopped at the frozen look of horror on my face. "What? What is-" Then he saw what I was looking at.

Snake's face mirrored my own shock. "Son of a Bitch..." He whispered. I couldn't have said it better myself. After a long moment of silence, Snake swallowed, quickly pulling the shirt over Cub's head, practically wrapping the boy in the fabric, like a baby.

I met Snake's gaze. I had never really seen the Scottish man without a shirt. His torso was lithe, but strong, with lightly defined muscles. This, however, was the last thing I was thinking of. Whatever had happened to Cub was bad. Our thoughts seemed to connect in the look we shared. We needed Cub awake, and we needed to discuss with him.

* * *

The men returned not too long after. This time they took Snake. The one look we shared conveyed the message clearly enough.

 _Take care of Cub._

I nodded once, causing the Soldier a smile before he was dragged off to whatever hell they were taking him too. Hopefully he wouldn't be too banged up when he came back. I still needed him.

Now that Cub was in a dry shirt, he was beginning to look a little better. I'd taken it upon myself to breath over his fingers, to try and bring some heat back to them. Rubbing one hand between two of mine, I looked over at the three other men who sat sulkily on their respective benches. The sight itself was, in a word, pathetic.

I sighed. "Has anyone even checked the place for a way out?"

The three met me with blank stares. "Yeah." Eagle responded. "None. And once this is all over, none of us will be in the shape to attempt an escape anyway."

I sighed once again at the lack of optimism. I glanced Cub over once more, taking in the injuries the Green Jackets had dealt him. With more than a grimace, I registered that his arm was dislocated. Great.

"Has anyone else here trained to relocate a shoulder?" I asked, never taking my eyes from Cub.

I heard footsteps approach from behind. Fox knelt down next to me, taking in Cub for the first time, his forehead creased with worry. "I have." He said. "But it'll hurt."

I grimaced myself at this. I didn't want to put Cub in any more pain than necessary, but one thing I knew, the longer you left a dislocated arm, the worse it got. He could even lose the arm altogether. I sighed, closing my eyes. "Then let's try and do it before he wakes up."

Fox nodded, taking Cub lightly into his lap. "I'll need you to hold his other arm." He said. I nodded. I already knew. "And if he wakes up..." His voice became quieter, laced with a guilt. "You need to help me restrain him."

I nodded like the Soldier I was, or, at least, was pretending to be. I knew I'd hate myself later for it, but I took a hold of Cub's right arm, holding firm.

Fox firmly held Cub's arm, getting ready to twist and pop it like trained. That was when I saw Cub begin to stir.

"Shit." I whispered. "Hurry!"

Fox nodded, and began the procedure quickly, but by now, Cub was already half awake, and about to face hell. I held firm and tightly onto his right arm, whispering, "I'm sorry, Cub."

It was then that Cub's eyes began to blink open. For a moment he looked back and forth between Fox and me, a terrified confusion behind those brown eyes. And then he screamed.

I held tighter to his arm as Cub thrashed and wailed and howled in my grip. Fox was halfway finished. The tears streamed openly down Cub's face, without shame or forethought. I knew what it was like to awake to pain. It dulled your grip on reality. It made you feel panicked, worse than that, terrified. It was one of the worst interrogation techniques I knew about.

I blinked at the tears in my own eyes. Cub was just a kid. Why did he have to take part in RTI in the first place? I'd never seen him like this; he looked ten years younger, like a kid waking from a night terror. Even Wolf and Eagle stiffened at their younger Unit member's screams.

Finally, after a stretch of seconds that could have been minutes, Fox finished the maneuver, relocating Cub's arm into the socket with a quiet pop. Finally Cub's screams ended, instead fading into violent sobs.

I flung my arms around the boy, pulling him in close to me, careful to avoid his left arm, the tears now falling freely down my cheeks. I stroked his blonde hair as I pressed his head into my shoulder, mumbling quietly to him.

"It's okay, Cub, you're safe, we're only trying to help, you're safe." The words came out in a tumble. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

* * *

 **Yes, it was Vixen's imagination. Cub wasn't actually screaming. I love Vixen's maternal feelings. This was the last pre-written chapter I had, but I'll get working on the next one. That means anything can happen!**


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't long before Cub began to calm down, his violent sobbing drowning into quiet whimpers. All the while I continued holding him, trying to calm him down as best I could. He was still cold. He was still whimpering. Why had I let him be taken? I should've put myself in the way. But then they probably would've hurt Cub even worse. And it would've been my fault.

"It's okay, Cub." I droned on, repeating the words like a mantra into his blonde hair. "I'm here."

It was a few minutes later that Cub lifted his head, his brown eyes were still shiny and wet, I could see the tracks down his face. The tears stained my shirt. "Vixen?" He whispered.

I nodded, smiling gently. "It's okay, Cub."

Cub's brows furrowed. His expression once again was lit by hurt. "Why?"

Oh man. I knew it's come to this. "Your shoulder was dislocated." I explained hurriedly. "I'm sorry, we had to fix it."

Cub lowered his head. "I know." He said quietly. "I think they did it on purpose. You were right. It was painful."

I shook my head, pulling him into an embrace again. "No. Cub, stop thinking about that." I ordered. "You're safe now."

He nodded over my shoulder. "I know."

I smiled, releasing him. We sat across from each other on the floor. It was now that cub noticed for the first time the adult sized shirt he was wearing.

"It's Snake's." I explained. "Yours was soaked and you were cold, so we had to get you dry." I leaned forward slightly. "Cub, be honest. What did they do to you?"

Cub pursed his lips. For a moment I felt bad for asking, but he answered anyway. "It's all kinda blurry now but... they tried drowning me. They slammed me into the wall a couple times. They kept threatening me. They twisted my arm up pretty badly. I think I passed out after it dislocated."

I raised an eyebrow. "So they drowned, walled, and threatened you for two and a half hours?"

He blinked. "It was really that long?"

I nodded solemnly.

Cub frowned, looking around the cell. Then I saw a flicker of realization cross his face. "Where's Snake?"

Now it was my turn to frown. "They took him not too long ago."

I didn't like it. Our only medic, and one of the most levelheaded in the Unit was now gone. He was going into RTI with no shirt on. Then I remembered.

"Cub, when we were changing your shirt, we found... something."

Cub tilted his head, but then realized what I was saying. "Oh man." He whispered.

I nodded. "Yeah. Where did you get all those scars?"

Cub shook his head. "That's not important."

I raised an eyebrow. "It was on your other missions, wasn't it?"

He nodded meekly.

I sighed. "Seriously Cub, I knew you were Double-O-Nothing, but really? What happened to you?"

He scowled. "I'm not a Double-O!" He said. "You think they'd give _me_ a license to kill? They won't even give me a gun!"

"I believe in this line of work, it really doesn't matter whether you have a license for killing at all." I leaned a little closer to him. "Now. Cub. What happened?"

He scowled. "Nothing." He said. "Just little marks I got from sneaking around and some accidents."

I frowned. "Cub. Have you been interrogated before?"

He nodded.

I sat back on my hands. "How do you usually handle interrogations?"

He shrugged. "Usually I don't." He grinned sheepishly.

I tilted my head. "And that means?"

"Well, normally I realize keeping my mouth shut isn't worth it all." He scowled bitterly. "Plus, MI6 blackmails me. Why should I stay quiet for them?"

"So you've interrogated before?" He nodded. "How so?"

He frowned now, as if recalling something he'd rather not. "Well, one time I was tied to a chair and the man had his henchman throwing knives at me." I nodded as he spoke. "The second time, I'm not sure it was an interrogation. This crazy guy was trying to," He put finger quotes around his words. "'tell me his evil plans.' Every time I tried to insult him or speak out, this woman hit me."

I tilted my head. "Only twice?"

He shuddered. "Um, well... on my last mission..." He paused.

I frowned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Cub." I repeated the mantra.

He looked at me. His brown eyes reminded me of a puppy. I nodded, and he continued. "Well, I was in a sugar processing plant..." I already hated where this was going. "This man had me strapped to a conveyor belt heading towards a... a sugar crusher."

I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

He nodded. "So naturally, all those times, I told them everything." He shrugged. "Usually the way they planned to kill me was worse than the interrogation."

I frowned. This kid had been through all _that_? I could never look at him the same way again. How could MI6 use a kid to do their dirty work? "Why do you keep going back to them?"

"They keep blackmailing me."

I shook my head. "Cub. Really."

He sighed. "Okay, _maybe_ I felt like I was meant to go back, but really it was more the blackmail."

I nodded. "You never showed anyone else in K-Unit your scars, did you?"

He shrugged. "Never felt the need to."

"Okay." I muttered, propping my head up on my fist. "So, you're fine, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Just the arm."

I smiled. "Okay." I looked to the door. "Now we just need to wait for Snake to return."

* * *

Over the next half hour, I tried to get the rest of the Unit to socialize, but the air in the room was still heavy and the mood was dead. I eventually gave up and became as reclusive as the rest. I spent my time counting the scratches on the walls.

It wasn't until an hour had passed that Snake came back.

The door opened quick, and Snake stumbled inside. He whipped around just as the door slammed shut. Angrily, he punched the door, as hard as if it was one of the Green Jacket's faces.

Grumbling, he turned around, trudging towards my bench. He sat next to me. I took him in carefully. He wasn't soaking for a change, but he had a black eye, multiple fresh bruises and other marks I didn't recognize scattered across his bare chest. A little blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"What'd they do to you?" Eagle asked from across the cell, his voice uncharacteristically grumpy sounding.

"Punched me in the face." He spat bitterly. His voice was raspy and dry.

"Well, yeah, we can see that." Wolf interjected. "But what else?"

Snake rolled his eyes, leaning back against the wall. "Electric shocks."

"They what?!" Fox snapped.

"I didn't think they had that tech here." Eagle said.

"Yeah, well they do." Snake said. "And it hurts like hell." Despite his bitter tone, he still grinned. "But on the bright side: I figured out an idea for escape."

I rolled my eyes. "Forget it. It's not gonna work."

But, to my surprise, Cub leaned forward. "Let's at least see what it is."

I grumbled. "Fine."

So Snake set to action, explaining his plan. "So, they usually send three people at most to collect the next victim. That's not much." He said. "Every time they've came, we've looked hopeless, submissive, like we've given up. So my plan is, next time they come, we put our two best men to stand next to the door. When they come, don't go for the ones coming in, since there's usually still a third outside. Just get out. Try and take down the guards. Get us out."

Come to think of it, that wasn't that bad of a plan.

"What if the guards are armed?" Fox asked.

"They weren't before." Snake pointed out.

I smiled. "Okay, sounds like a plan. Who's gonna put it into action?"

Snake grinned. "Wolf and me?"

Wolf grinned also. "Sounds good to me."

So Snake and Wolf took up their respective positions next to the door. I cheered internally. Finally we had a plan. If this worked, we could finally end these two days of hell.

We all waited in quiet. But the quiet held a happiness that everyone had been lacking since our mock capture. For the first time in forever, this little cell held hope.


End file.
